UNC football, head coach Bill Belichick to appear on HBO series ‘Hard Knocks,’ reports say
UNC football knew it was going to be under a brighter spotlight this season with the addition of Bill Belichick as the Tar Heels’ head coach, but those lights are reportedly going to get turned up brighter this summer.
According to multiple reports, HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” a program that typically follows an NFL team throughout its offseason training, will instead focus its next series on the North Carolina football program and its NFL-legend head coach.
Front Office Sports first reported the news Friday, citing multiple sources. According to the report, NFL Films, which produces the series that airs on HBO, could not find an NFL team willing to be featured on the offseason version of the program this year.
When Belichick was hired at UNC, he said he wanted to run the team “like an NFL organization.”
This decision would qualify.
According to UNC football general manager Michael Lombardi, in an appearance on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday, there have been talks, but nothing is final.
“I think there’s a lot of conversations going on now about that,” Lombardi told McAfee. “I think we’ve had a lot of offers from people all over to come in and look at our program and kind of do the behind-the-scenes things. I don’t anything is official or been signed to, to make it happen.”
Asked if he did the negotiating, Lombardi was quick to answer.
“No, that would be the university,” he said. “When you’re dealing with the university and the brand we have at North Carolina, which is incredible, you have to make sure everything is done right and all the t’s are crossed. ... (NFL Films), they do an incredible job, but I don’t think it’s official to say it’s at the point where we can say we will do it.
“If we do do it, the idea is to let people examine what we’re doing and let people take a look at the 33rd team in the NFL,” Lombardi continued, “in how we’re building this program and what we’re trying to accomplish, and I think it will give an accurate portrayal”
“Hard Knocks” once featured only NFL training camps, but has expanded to feature in-season and offseason series, as well.
Last season’s inaugural offseason “Hard Knocks” featured the New York Giants, and showed viewers intimate details behind the team losing running back Saquon Barkley, and discussions around quarterback Daniel Jones.
According to published reports, several league executives, including Giants GM Joe Schoen, have expressed hesitation with the offseason programming, fearing it exposed too much from behind the scenes.
Belichick has a history with NFL Films. He allowed cameras to follow him for a 2009 program called “A Football Life, Bill Belichick.” After he parted ways with the Patriots last January, Belichick worked with “Inside the NFL,” another NFL Films production.
Deputy Regional Sports Editor Justin Pelletier and Staff Writer Chip Alexander contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 28, 2025 at 1:45 PM.